AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
…. a weekly update of local news in the Pyrenees-Orientales
With Caroline Hill
Woman dies after visit from Bailiffs – a 51 year old Canet woman collapsed and died of a heart attack after bailiffs called at her home to collect a debt owed to the Pole Emploi. The bailiffs called the gendarmes after an apparent ‘altercation’ during their visit but reports vary as to whether the lady became ill before or after their arrival. The Canet gendarmes were accompanied by a television crew from TF1 who are currently spending two months filming an in-depth reportage.
Man missing on massif du Carlit – a 39 year old man from l’Aveyron set off to climb Pic Carlit last Sunday and hasn’t been seen since. Search efforts are being hampered by the continuing bad weather.
Domestic dispute ends in violence – police and firemen were called to a house in Le Soler on Wednesday where, following a domestic dispute, a man attempted suicide by stabbing himself in the stomach with a knife. He was taken to hospital, still alive.
Fatal road accident at Theza – the contraflow system on the D914 has already been the scene of several accidents but on Tuesday an accident ended in the death of a driver. A 75 year old delivery driver took the wrong turning and headed into oncoming traffic, hitting two cars head on. He was helicoptered to hospital but died of his injuries – the drivers of the two other cars were also injured and taken to hospital.
Patient couldn’t wait to go home – Staff at the Rehabilitation Centre in Banyuls gave the alert last Wednesday when a 67 year old patient disappeared. She ate lunch with the other residents but did not turn up for dinner and could not be found. The police were called and she was discovered the following morning, several hundred metres from the Centre having fallen in a vineyard. She was taken to Perpignan hospital – cold but uninjured. She had been due to be released the following day but had complained to her family by telephone that she was upset to have to wait another day and it is believed she had decided to make her own way home.
Young thieves arrested in St. Cyprien – After police investigations into a series of thefts around the St. Cyprien, Elne and Alenya areas, a team of 7 young men aged between 20 and 25 years were arrested. Their cache was valued at around 30000euros and included utility vehicles, diesel and engines.
Man seriously injured in Collioure – A 53 year old Englishman who had spent the evening drinking at the home of some friends in collioure, fell down the staircase and knocked himself unconscious. He was found the following morning in a critical condition due to a head wound. Due to his size (described as ‘very fat’) he was removed from the building through a window and was helicoptered to hospital in Perpignan. An enquiry is under way into the circumstances of the injuries and as to whether a third-party was involved.
Cash Machine attacked – A lorry was used as a battering ram in an attempt to dislodge a cash machine installed on the D115 at St.Jean Pla de Corts. The attempt failed.
Tourist trade suffering because of the weather – Restaurants and beach-clubs along the coast are suffering their worst start to the season for 10 years. Seasonal workers are not yet being recruited and some enterprises have had to put some of their staff on stand-by.
20 minutes to catch handbag thief – Thanks to the CCTV system in Thuir, two young men who snatched a bag from a 70 year old lady and ran off into the surrounding streets were arrested within 20 minutes.
No holiday for a policeman – A Parisian policeman had his holiday rudely interrupted when he spotted 2 suspicious looking men running along a street being chased by another man shouting that they had stolen his mobile phone at knifepoint. He immediately leapt into action, chased them over a wall but lost sight of them. Not one to give up, he toured the streets in his car and tracked them down where they were in the middle of changing their clothes and throwing the old ones into a dustbin. The clothes, the knife and the mobile phone were all recovered and the men were arrested.
And finally …..
Windmill toppled by wind – The Eolienne on the traffic island at the entrance to Saleilles has fallen to the ground, unable to cope with the strong winds. What hope for the rest of us…?
